Because I Love You
by MyNameIsCAL
Summary: Fang returns after 10 years to find Dylan and Max married with a son. He makes the best of his relationship with Max and her son,but realizes that he'll never be happy without them. And what happens when Dylan isn't the man Max thought he was? Fang's POV
1. Chapter 1

**Because I Love You – Chapter 1**

By MyNameIsCAL

**So you can either interpret this as sort of an after **_**Fang**_** fic, or just Fang leaving and coming back. It's more like ten years passed and then Fang came back though, and Angel isn't going to be all psycho and the end of the world wasn't coming. So there's not much intact from **_**Fang**_**, but I toyed around with this idea for a while and thought I'd try writing it finally. **

-Fang's POV-

"Thanks for letting me hang around."

Those words, they came out forced. I stood with a backpack slung over my shoulder and a suitcase in hand.

Max gave me a smile. "Hey, no problem. You should bring your girlfriend around for dinner sometime, alright, Fang?"

And here came my forced smile. "Of course. I'll see you around."

Max nodded, opening the door to me.

"Uncle Fang!"

I turned, dropping my things to the floor. Ari, Max's little five year old son, came running at me. He jumped up, and I caught him in my arms, trying not to fall backwards.

"Hey, you," I said.

Ari put his arms around my neck. "Why are you leaving, Uncle Fang?"

"Well, your mother is tired of feeding me, and well, Uncle Iggy needs some help because Nudge isn't around right now," I told him. "But he said you can come visit us whenever you want."

He frowned. "I'll feed you then."

I set him down, ruffling his hair, smiling a little. "That's very nice of you, but I gotta go."

"Will you still come to my tee-ball games, Uncle Fang?" Ari tugged at my sleeve.

"Ari, that's enough. Let Uncle Fang leave now." Dylan emerged from the doorway, frowning as usual. Max let out a sigh.

"Of course." I gave Ari a reassuring smile before picking up my bags. "I wouldn't miss them for anything else in the world."

He grinned, and my response had obviously displeased Dylan because he trudged back into his office.

"Thanks, Fang." Max gave me a hug, throwing me off balance again.

I put my arm around her, wishing I could hold onto her longer. "Anytime."

And then I was out the door and to my car, heading to Iggy's place.

It was a fifteen minute drive from Max's house to Iggy's house. But it was enough time to let me think about the past fifteen years. I left, as you probably know, but I came ten years later, Max already married to Dylan and a kid on the way. She welcomed me back with open arms, unlike Angel who said I would only cause more trouble. Maybe she was right, but at least when we got together for dinner from time to time, Angel would put on a smile and we got along like old times.

Unlike Angel, Iggy took some pity on me, saying Max had been a mess when I left, but also saying it was Dylan who got her to come back, and it was why they had sparked a flame together. My unhappiness was only my own fault. I wasn't going to deny that. And yet it hurt to see Max with Dylan, ungrateful and never around to see his own son excel at so many things. I had watched that kid grow to where he was now. I had been the one to rush Max to the hospital because Dylan had been at work. I was the one that saw Ari come into this world because Dylan hadn't made it in time. I was always there when he wasn't. It frustrated me. No matter how many fights Max and Dylan had, no matter how many times Dylan came home a little drunk, Max still loved him and I didn't understand why.

I let out a sigh, parking Iggy's driveway, as my phone rang. My girlfriend Jade was calling. We had been dating for a year now. But it was getting to the point where she was expecting me to do something more, and I didn't want to. I couldn't commit because my heart was somewhere else. My heart was with Max.

Ignoring my cell phone, I walked to Iggy's front door with my stuff. He opened the door before I could even press the bell.

"You really shouldn't ignore Jade." He let me in.

"I'll call her later." I set my stuff on the floor. "Where's Nudge?

"You know how she feels about your situation." Iggy shook his head. "She feels bad for you, but she thinks you're an asshole for stringing Jade along. I don't think she wants to deal with you anyway. She's stressed out by her work."

I stared at the ground. "That's not nearly as bad as Angel."

Iggy smirked. "Angel wants to chop your head off and feed you to a pack of wolves."

"Does she really?"

"No, but I have no idea why she hates you so much."

"Remind me why I listen to you again."

"Because I'm lonely too."

"No you're not." Now he was mocking me.

He laughed. "Nudge is on her way to Canada doing make up and costume for Gazzy's next movie. That doesn't concern me one bit that my wife is running around Canada with Hollywood's hottest actor."

This time I didn't respond.

"Well, you can have the guest room. I'm going to start cooking dinner soon. How's pizza sound?"

I picked up my stuff again. "Anything you cook sounds fine. Max's cooking…"

"Is crap. I know, Fang. It's alright," Iggy now looked sincerely concerned. "You'll be alright."

* * *

**Thanks for reading.**

**If you follow my other stories, I know it seems like I've been slow at updating, and it's because I've been working on some new stuff. I felt really stuck writing for some of my other stories, and I'll get back to them really soon, but I figured I have these chapters for new stories sitting around waiting to be read, so I'd let you all enjoy them. It would give me more room to work too, so I can have a variety of stories to work on and feel productive because I'm just writing something that's going to sit around on my computer for months without being read by anyone else.**

**Ok…I'll let you go before I start rambling about something more irrelevant, like cows and what not. **_**Angel**_** will be out soon too, which means that can only spark a whole ton of more new ideas –sigh-**

**Anyway, thanks again. I'll update this one soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Because I Love You – Chapter 2**

By MyNameIsCAL

I sat in the bleachers with Max, watching one of Ari's tee-ball games. Dylan was absent as usual.

"I broke up with Jade," I told her.

She frowned. "What…why?"

"I…" I wished I could confess to Max how I felt still, but this was not the place. "I'm not ready for what she wants."

Max opened her mouth to say something, but one of the mothers of Ari's friends came over, holding a flier.

"Hey, we're putting together a fundraiser at the school to raise money for the library to buy new books," the mother told us. "But one of the older kids suggested we have a dunk tank and we're looking for a father to sit and be dunked."

I spent so much time around Max and Ari that it almost made it seem like I was married to Max. Sometimes it aggravated me. Other times I just wished it was true.

"Well, I'm sure Fang would love to have a bunch of kids dunk him into freezing water," Max laughed.

"My husband would get so mad if I volunteered him like that."

"Mine would too," Max said.

"You two aren't married?"

Max shook her head. "Fang is just a friend."

That always threw people off. Today, I was indifferent to how people felt. But it surprised me how people could forget that Max was married to Dylan, seeing as he was all famous and popping up in the headlines every now and then.

"Uncle Fang! You came!" Ari was running towards me, his batting helmet bouncing up and down, ready to come toppling off.

"I told you I wasn't going to miss any of your games, didn't I?" It was easy to pretend to be happy for Ari though. I probably treated him how I would treat my own kid if I had one.

He hugged my leg. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Kiddo."

"C'mon. We're going to go grab some lunch at Uncle Iggy's house," Max said.

"Are you coming?" Ari looked up at me.

"Yes."

He cheered, taking me by the hand and dragging me towards Max's car. I had flown here, causing a scene when I landed in one of the empty baseball fields. Everyone around here knew our story, well at least the part about being genetically altered by scientists.

"So how's Dylan?" I questioned Max.

Her tone seemed to change. "He's alright. Been caught up in work more. Spending more time in the city. He's got an apartment there now. You know, he'd be a lot faster if he just learned how to fly better."

She didn't elaborate like usual, telling me about his latest meetings with politicians and celebrities, which meant she was unhappy with him at the moment. Dylan's job had started out as something inspiring. He was heading an environmental group, one that had raised awareness first locally, and then nationally as big stars, such as Gazzy, had promoted them. It had grown, and now Dylan found himself dealing with politicians, trying to convince them that there needed to be laws and regulations on certain things to promote recycling and creating a better environment. Every now and then Max would stick up for Dylan, saying that he was busy saving the world, and we would laugh because it seemed so long ago when we had been fighting for our lives and trying to save the world too.

Ari greeted Iggy with a hug too, although a gentler one. Lunch was almost ready to be served, and we sat around the table. I grabbed some sodas from Iggy's garage and poured some lemonade for Ari before taking a seat next to Max.

"Have you heard from Nudge?" questioned Max. "I saw Gazzy and her headlining a tabloid when I went to the store the other day."

Iggy let out a laugh. "Gazzy actually called me up last night, all worried I might think something was going on between them. The media should have their fun. It's better than them talking about the economy. But Nudge says Canada is nice. Not as hot as it is here in Arizona."

"Don't they have like mooses in Canada?" Ari tugged at my sleeve.

"Moose? Yes, I think they do," I replied, amused.

"Oh, ok."

Max caught my eye, giving me a smile, and I smiled back, just for a moment, careful never to look too long, afraid she might see more of my true feelings.

Lunch went by quickly. In fact, Max stayed around almost until dinner time, talking to us. But she said she had to get home before Dylan, and I walked her out to her car, buckling Ari into his car seat.

"Bye, Uncle Fang!" He waved. "I'll see you soon, right?"

"Absolutely," I said, waving back before I closed the door.

Max stood in front of me now, just inches away. But I had learned to control myself over the past five years.

"You know, Fang," she began quietly, "If you ever wanna talk, don't hesitate to call, alright? I miss having Dylan around. There's no one to talk to, really."

"I might take you up on that offer," I said, trying not to smile.

"Well, goodnight, Fang." She gave me her usual goodbye hug, and then got into the car, speeding away.

"Goodnight, Max," I muttered, trudging back to the house.

I realized how pathetic I was. Max had a family, Gazzy was a star, and Nudge was right up there with him, while Angel worked with the FBI, and Iggy could cook. I was…good at nothing. Now that I thought about it, I was a complete freeloader, living off of everyone else's fortune. And all Iggy asked me to do was to help him go out to get the groceries and clean the dishes.

"Well, I don't think I've heard you smile like that in a long time," Iggy remarked as I started to rinse the dishes.

I let out a sigh. "Iggy, why are you letting me stay here?"

"Because I need someone to see for me." Iggy frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"Because Max always stuck up for me when Dylan said I should go and get a job and move out. And now I'm here, making you cook for me, eating the food you bought with your own money."

"Actually, it's Nudge's money, and she doesn't give a damn about how I use it." He placed the last dirty plate on the counter next to the sink. "Besides, I like cooking."

"I should get a job, or something."

"You know you're too busy putting yourself down, Fang. Max and Ari, they're a lot happier when you're around. Do you know why she stuck up for you, do you know why she never told you that you were a lazy ass? It's because those feelings that she had for you, she still has them, deep down inside." His sightless, pale blue eyes seemed to find me. "You're there when Dylan isn't. You'd be the best father in the world. And I'm sure if Max had to go back and do it all over again, she would have waited for you."

"Do you really think that, Ig?"

"I don't _think_, I _know_."

I finished putting the last of the dishes into the dishwasher. "Alright, then."

"You shouldn't give up on her, that's what I'm trying to say." He gave me a small smile. "Because she hasn't given up on you."

And he left me with that, standing alone in the kitchen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Because I Love You – Chapter 3**

By MyNameIsCAL

This was one of the few places I had expected to spend my Saturday, sitting in a dunk tank letting little kids send me plunging into freezing water. At least it was something to do. I offered to bring Iggy, but he wasn't a fan of crowds, and said that I should bring Max and Ari and Dylan back for dinner, saying he'd try to see if Angel was around.

Angel might have hated me with a burning passion, but she still considered me family, after all we had been through together, and family came first. That was what she told me a long time ago, and it made me wonder if she had other reasons for disliking my return.

"You look scared." Max had been monitoring the line of kids waiting to try to hit the target, and now that it had died down, she was just standing around.

"It's freezing." My teeth chattered.

She picked up one of the balls and threw it at the target. Before I could even protest, I was submerged in the water, surfacing to see Max laughing.

"You're lucky the kids miss half the time," she grinned. "I still have pretty good aim."

I climbed back up, resetting the platform. We still had another hour.

"You try sitting up here for another two hours getting dropped into cold water," I countered.

"That's why I volunteered you."

I squeezed some of the water out of my shirt. "Where's Ari?"

"With Dylan."

Scanning the gym, some sixth sense kicked in. I spotted Ari running towards us. So much for Dylan looking after him. I hopped out of the dunk tank, creating a trail of water as I hurried forward.

"Ari, what's wrong?" Max asked.

He ran to me though, crying. I kneeled down, and he put his arms around me, tears warming my shoulder.

A mother was approaching us, her child in hand.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "My son pushed your son. He thought your son was cutting him, and he's…"

"It's ok, I'm sure he didn't mean it," I said quietly.

Dylan was making his way towards us now, his cell phone in hand. Max had her back to him, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Ari, are you okay?" I asked him softly.

The poor kid nodded into my shoulder, his fingers gripping onto the back of my wet shirt.

"Why weren't you watching him?" Max turned to Dylan now.

"I…I got an important call. I thought he'd be alright alone for five minutes, Max." He shoved his phone into his pocket. "I mean, he's alright, so what does it matter?"

Max took in a deep breath. She didn't want to make a scene here, but I knew later, Dylan and her would be back at it, arguing and fighting. The idea of that tore me up inside a little every time.

"I wanna go home, Uncle Fang," Ari whimpered.

"Why don't I take Ari back to Iggy's place?" I offered. "We're gonna have dinner there anyway."

Max nodded, pulling out her car keys. "Take my car. I'll see you at Iggy's in a little bit."

Dylan looked ticked off now, but I scooped Ari up in my arms and carried him away.

By the time we got home, Ari was back to himself, laughing how he had gotten wet from me holding him. I gave him a towel when we got inside and told him to sit on the couch to watch TV, hoping either Max would remember to bring clothes or he would dry before dinner. I headed upstairs to the bathroom and showered, hearing Max and Dylan arrive just as I finished changing.

"I had a call, Max. It was important," Dylan sounded like he was repeating himself from before, exasperation in his voice.

"You hardly see Ari anymore. The least you could do is look after him." Max was angry, no doubt. I was upset too. Sometimes I felt like I cared more about them than Dylan did.

"Well I'm sorry," Dylan grumbled. "Why don't we just go home now?"

"Dylan, if you've got work to do, then why don't you just go home, and stop trying to pretend you care when you don't!"

I had to admit, sometimes angry Max made me smile, although this wasn't one of those times. Dylan was actually starting to make me angry, and I tried very hard to keep my indifference about him.

I started down the stairs, the doorbell ringing. When I opened it, Max stood there alone.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

She stepped inside and I closed the door. When I turned to face her, she put her arms around me, her head leaning against my chest as she closed her eyes. "I don't know anymore, Fang. Sometimes I feel like the world is still spinning."

I rested my arms around her. "You'll be okay. Dylan will come around eventually and see things from your side."

"I know you don't really think that," she whispered, looking up at me now.

Our eyes met for a moment, maybe lingering for too long. It felt like one of those stolen moments from years ago when max and I found our peace briefly, away from the flock. If I hadn't learned self control from all the years that have passed now that I had watched Max with Dylan, I might have just wrapped my arms around her and I might have pulled her into a kiss. But I knew my boundaries, and right now, Max had crossed the line instead of myself, which in a way, was shocking.

"Well," I spoke softly, "I just wish there was more I could do for you."

Max finally broke our gaze, but her words made it harder for me to keep myself in check. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Fang."

In fact, I didn't really know how to answer her.

But her head rested back against my chest. "Thank you, Fang."

I could have stood there for hours like that, there with Max. Once more, her eyes met mine again, longer than last time, and it made me wonder what she had seen in them that made her look so sad as we broke apart.


	4. Chapter 4

**Because I Love You – Chapter 4**

By MyNameIsCAL

Almost suddenly, I started to see a lot less of Max, and yet I saw more of Dylan in the tabloids and on the TV. It worried me, considering Max hadn't returned any of my calls or texts, although I had been careful not to bombard her with messages. Boundaries. Maybe she had made up with Dylan, and now that I was out of the house, they had their privacy again. Or at least I knew Dylan would probably feel better now that I was gone.

"You know, Dylan was probably just trying to have a nice lunch with some star and the tabloids jumped on the chance to blow it out of proportion." Iggy was chopping up onions, and I winced every time he sent the knife downward. "You know Nudge is practically Gazzy's sister, and Gazzy doesn't really like hanging around with other stars, so he usually sticks around with Nudge. Although someone must have reminded the media that they've known each other since they were born and that Nudge is married to me, which makes the story untrue, that is unless if Gazzy was a jerk, which he can be at times, ok, I was kidding about that, don't tell him I said that."

I let out a laugh. Iggy and Gazzy, after all these years, still found ways to poke fun at each other.

"Although it is a little, I don't know, disconcerting that Max hasn't been answering your messages. It's not like her."

"Well, I'm supposed to go to Ari's game this weekend, so I guess I'll see her," I said. "Maybe you should come to get out of the house."

Iggy shrugged. "Fresh air. I guess that sounds alright."

Finally, Friday night, Max answered me. She sent me a text, saying she had been busy with Dylan and Ari, that they had some family time together and although Dylan wasn't going to be able to make it to the tee ball game tomorrow, Ari was looking forward to seeing me. That came as a relief. But when I told her Iggy offered to have dinner at his place, she told me that Dylan would be home by then and he promised to take them out to dinner.

I tried not to let it irk me. Dylan was her husband, and if he was trying to fix things, then I was happy for Max if she was accepting of it. I just found it hard to grasp at the fact I was no longer seeing her every day, and now my thoughts easily wandered to her, and how I wished I could change things.

Almost too slowly, Saturday afternoon arrived. Iggy and I felt to the ball field and we found Max sitting on the bleachers alone.

"Hey, Fang," she gave me a small smile.

I guided Iggy up to the level she was sitting on and then took a seat next to her.

"Are those new, Ig?"

Iggy turned to face her. "Oh, I don't know, I've got tons of sunglasses thanks to Nudge. I sorta just pick one out of the pile that matches what I'm wearing."

Max gave him an amused look. She had sunglasses on too. Expensive looking ones. I was always the kind of person who bought a cheap pair whenever I needed them because I had dropped a few pairs flying, and I figured the people below wouldn't appreciate falling sunglasses.

"Are yours new?" I asked her after a while.

She nodded. "Dylan got them for me."

I felt like there was something wrong. Throughout the entire game, conversation was thin, and before, Max always had things to talk about. Iggy was now trying to talk to me, and he too probably sensed something was wrong. I hoped Max was just preoccupied, that everything was okay. Part of me wished Iggy had just gone with Nudge to Canada so moving out of Max's house wouldn't have been an option.

"UNCLE FANG! UNCLE IGGY!"

Dylan was a lot more enthusiastic about seeing us. He gave Iggy a careful hug before jumping up into my arms.

"I missed you," Ari said, poking my nose.

I laughed, putting him down. Max seemed like she was in a rush to get out of here. I vaguely remember her saying she had to meet Dylan at his office before they went to dinner.

"So I'll see you next weekend?" I asked her ansiously.

She alleviate some of my doubt, giving me a goodbye hug. "As always. Thanks for coming."

"Anytime."

"Hey," Iggy cut in. "We really should all get together for dinner, alright?"

Max pulled away from me, her eyes meeting mine as she answered him. "That would be nice, Iggy. We'll figure something out."

But it was like she was trying to tell me something else, totally unrelated to her response to Iggy. I watched Ari and her walk towards her car and drive away before I turned my attention back to Iggy.

"Something's bothering her," Iggy muttered.

"I know."

"Well, I'm sure it's nothing," he assured me.

"C'mon, let's go home."

And we took off, leaving the flow of parents and kids going to their cars and watching us fly away in awe.

* * *

The tee ball season was over. I no longer saw Max every week. Somehow Dylan was home a lot more, but he was still making news headlines, being seen with the biggest stars, including Gazzy who was going to start some commercial campaign to raise awareness for climate change. He had the public listening, the celebrities, and even politicians. I had to give him credit for that, but it bothered me that he had told Max to stop spending as much time around me.

It was two weeks ago when Max had called me up. She told me what Dylan had said and told me that he had offered me a job, but there was no way I was going to take orders from him and Iggy still needed looking after as Nudge started to become busier. That hurt a little, but Max told me not to take it personally, that Dylan never liked me, and while she didn't state the reason why, I knew we both knew.

"He's probably afraid you're going to take Max from him now that there's distance between the two of you, now that you're more removed from her," Iggy suggested. "He knows you've still got feelings for her, and he's jealous because he knows Max still has those feelings deep down inside in return."

I turned on the TV, Dylan appearing with a local politician.

"You know, he's supposed to go to Washington, DC next month. Maybe you'll get some time with Max then," Iggy sighed. "Don't worry about her too much."

* * *

**I'm putting this at the end of the chapters I update over the next few days just as a statement now that I've finished reading the newest Max Ride book, _Angel_.**

**My honest opinion is that it was good. It lived up to my realistic expectations, although I find myself a little frustrated because it's not exactly what I wanted. But there's still one more book, you must remember when you're reading it. The ending needs to be good, or we'll be left with a feeling that all this was wasted.**

**Just a suggestion, don't go into reading _Angel_ with a hatred for any of the characters. Take a deep breath and let them speak for themselves, and you'll realize that things may be complicated, but Patterson is definitely setting up an ending that could be good (as I'm hoping), or it could be a disaster, but let's not ponder that because no matter what happens, I'll still be sitting here writing fanfics until people stop reading and reviewing them.**

**My inbox is opened for opinions once you've read _Angel_. I'd like to know how you felt about it.  
**

**And thanks for reading, as always. I'll be sure to update soon**

**}MyNameIsCAL{**


	5. Chapter 5

**Because I Love You – Chapter 5**

By MyNameIsCAL

"Fang, will you stop leaving these stupid tabloids around?"

Iggy chucked one at me with superhuman strength. I deflected it with my arm and settled back into my chair. "Sorry."

"You better get rid of all of this." He dropped a few more onto the table. "You're like a stalker. I don't know, it's weird, man. Nudge said she might stop by this weekend and the last thing we need is you freaking her out. There's no way in hell I'm going to let her drag me to China. Besides, Ari is coming over so you can babysit him. He'll be all creeped out by them."

I piled up the papers and the tabloids. "Alright, Ig, I'm sorry."

He took a seat across from me, his tone softening. "Have you talked to Max recently?"

"Well…no, not since I called her to have dinner last weekend."

He let out a _hmphf_ sound. "I still get this off feeling."

I stood, heading to the recycling box in the garage. "Yeah, me too."

It was last Saturday that Max, Dylan, and Ari had come for dinner. After Iggy asking so many times, they couldn't turn him down again, and it was getting to the point where I had Iggy on my side worrying about Max. She didn't seem like herself.

We had spent a lot of dinner listening to Dylan talk about his job, how he had met numerous politicians and Hollywood celebrities. He said he saw Gazzy a week ago, catching him when he was briefly in Los Angeles for a movie premiere. Max spoke only when she was spoken too, Ari separating me from her. He had a cast on his arm. Max told me he had fallen trying to run up the stairs.

"Hey, Max, what happened to your arm?"

She looked up at me, but Dylan answered, "We were moving boxes in the basement and one of them had a sharp edge."

I had said nothing in response and watched Max close her mouth, going back to eating. She had other bruises and small cuts. There wasn't that much stuff in the basement, but I wasn't going to let my mind jump to other conclusions.

Dylan and them hung around for about an hour after dinner. I got the feeling Max didn't want to leave, but I never got a chance to talk to her without Dylan being around. I was hoping he would go to the bathroom or something, but he remained sitting next to her, never leaving her side.

I excused myself from the sitting room, going to check on Iggy and Ari who were in the kitchen making cookies. When I returned with a soda, Dylan was standing with his back towards me, arms around Max. It was obvious whatever he was doing, she didn't want him to. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but Max spotted me, trying to push him off.

"Stop it, Dylan," she said.

"We should go home now, Max." Dylan let out a breath. "Remember, I'm leaving early Monday morning and I've got to go to the office tomorrow.

She broke free of his grasp. "Let Ari have his cookies first, then we'll go."

Now it was a week later, the media flooding entertainment headlines that Dylan was cheating on Max with some actress. I had stopped trying to call Max. If she wanted to talk, then she would have to call me first now. I was not the one to give away that I was still very much attached to her. It wasn't something I was proud of, especially since I felt like she didn't want to see me anymore.

Just after lunch, Dylan arrived to drop of Ari. He and Max were out to go to some dinner event.

"Uncle Fang!" Ari hugged my leg.

"Hey, Kiddo." I ruffled his hair.

"We'll probably be back late," Dylan said, handing me a bag. "He's got a change of clothes and some toys in there."

"Alright, Iggy's cooking dinner so we're just gonna be here anyway."

Dylan nodded and turned on his heel, heading back to the car. I sighed and closed the door. Ari still had his cast on, which now had signatures and little pictures on them.

"How's your arm?" I asked him.

"It's ok," he said. "I don't like hospitals."

I laughed. "Yeah, I don't either."

"Where's Uncle Iggy?"

"In the backyard."

"But it's hot outside."

I shrugged. "He likes it out there. C'mon, let's go see him."

He scurried ahead, and I thought about telling him to be careful, but he was already out the backdoor before I could open my mouth. Iggy sat on one of the lawn chairs, sunglasses glinting in the heat.

"Hey, Ari." He let Ari jump onto his lap.

"Uncle Iggy! What are you going to make for dinner tonight?"

Iggy looked amused. "Whatever you'd like."

We ended up making pizza. The kitchen was a mess by the time we finished, but it made Ari happy, and to see him smile, well, it seemed to make the world seem a whole lot brighter.

It was almost midnight now and there still no sign of Dylan or Max. I sat up with Ari on the couch who seemed restless and unable to fall asleep. He was snuggled in a blanket next to me, head rested against me. I had the TV on, hoping it would help him sleep, but I think it was making me drowsier than him.

"Uncle Fang?"

"Hm, what's wrong, Ari?" I looked down at him.

"Can I tell you something?"

"Absolutely."

He sat up. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course."

Ari frowned. "I keep having these dreams where Mommy is screaming and Daddy is hurting her. Well, Mommy just says their dreams, but sometimes I think they're real."

I wasn't sure what to say, but he kept on talking.

"And I didn't fall down the stairs. Daddy pushed me and then I fell." Dylan was staring at his cast now. "I don't know why. I think I made him angry. But…but I think he meant it, like that kid that pushed me in the gym for that thing where you sat in the dunk tank."

"Are you sure, Ari?"

He nodded, closing his eyes. "And Mommy isn't ever happy anymore. I don't think she wanted to go wherever Daddy was taking her tonight."

"What makes you say that?"

He settled back against me. "I don't know. They were arguing on the way here. But I told Mommy that I wished you lived with us still and she said that she wished that too."

I pulled the blanket back over him. "Get some rest, alright, Kiddo?"

"Ok, Uncle Fang."

It took the doorbell ringing five times before I woke. Iggy, his hearing more sensitive than mine, came stumbling down the stairs, half asleep. I opened the front door and Max stood there, looking exhausted and wearing a dress, something I had never seen here in before.

"I'm going back to sleep," Iggy grumbled. "Night, Max."

"Goodnight, Ig."

He tromped back up the stairs.

"Where's Ari?" she asked me.

"Asleep on the couch. Why don't you come in for a minute? Is Dylan waiting for you?"

She shook her head, letting me close the front door. I turned on the light and Max winced.

"Turn it off," she muttered. "It's so bright."

I almost flicked the switch back off, but then I caught a glimpse of her face.

"Max, what happened to you?"

She backed away. "Nothing."

Max had dried blood on her face, her eye swollen and already looking like it was becoming bruised.

"Max, what has Dylan been doing to you?"

She turned away. "I need to get home. Let me get Ari now."

"Max, please, talk to me."

"I…" She fell onto the couch next to Ari.

I sat next to her. "Max, you can't let him do this to you."

"It's complicated, Fang, you don't understand." She began to wake Ari.

"Max, maybe you shouldn't go home. We can call Angel, or the police."

"Ari told you, didn't he?" Max closed her eyes. "I knew he would. Dylan just keeps lying and lying to him. Ari isn't stupid. He's a smart kid."

She gave up on trying to wake him. "Dylan is leaving to Washington tomorrow, Fang. I have to go now."

I lifted Ari off the couch, feeling defeated. She led the way to the car and I strapped Ari in, muttering a goodbye before closing the door.

"Max, you call me if you need anything. I'll be there."

Suddenly, she put her arms around me. "If something happens to me, promise you'll take care of Ari."

"Why do you say that Max?"

"Because…I don't know, Fang, just promise me."

I held her close, feeling her grip onto me tighter. "I promise, Max."

She held on for a few more seconds and then let me go, wiping her eyes as she got into the car. I watched her speed off and spent the rest of the night up hoping things would be okay.


	6. Chapter 6

**Because I Love You – Chapter 6**

By MyNameIsCAL

"Uncle Fang?"

I hadn't recognized the number, but Ari's voice was unforgettable.

"Ari, hey, what's wrong?"

"Something happened to Mommy."

"Where are you?"

"At the hospital. The one we pass going to the park."

"I'm going to be there. Is someone with you?"

"A policeman. I'm using a hospital phone. Uncle Fang, I'm scared."

"I'll be there soon, okay, don't you worry."

Iggy stood in the doorway. "Who was that?"

"It was Ari. He's at the hospital. Something happened to Max."

His eyes slipped into focus. "Dylan…"

"I don't know."

We headed out the backdoor and took off into the sky. The dry, dry heat ate away at us, and we landed in the hospital parking lot, exhausted. I took Iggy by the arm and we rushed into the emergency room. A little further inside was a waiting area where Ari sat with a policeman I recognized. It was the local chief of police. The media came when they heard I came around to be reunited with the others in the flock. In a way, we were celebrities, and the chief had helped keep the media away. Except I had remained the mysterious one.

"Mr. Fang," as the chief always addressed me whenever we saw one another. "He insisted on calling you. I was going to bring him back to the station. I know Dylan is off to Washington. We tried to call him, but his phone is off."

I picked up Ari and he put his arms around my neck, closing his eyes as he rested his head against my shoulder.

"I…I'm going to be honest with you, Chief, but I think Dylan has something to do with this."

The chief nodded. "I had a feeling. Max is being examined by a doctor now. I'll let you know when I have more information to tell you. Will you be alright with Ari?"

"Yes, I think so. Thank you, Chief."

He nodded. "I'll be around, but if you need something, have an officer contact me."

I sat down, Ari still holding onto me. He still looked scared, and I asked him what happened.

"I don't know," Ari said quietly. "I was getting ready for school and Mommy was making breakfast. Daddy already left, but then she fell down and I couldn't wake her up, so I called 911."

"Alright, Ari, it's okay," I soothed. "Mommy is going to be alright."

"She was fighting with Daddy last night after we got home."

Time passed by slowly. Iggy was getting anxious, now pacing a small space inside the room. Ari had fallen asleep in my lap and I remembered back to when he had been a baby, keeping Max and I up all night because Dylan was either too tired or still at work. The chief returned, doctor trailing behind him.

"You can see her now," the doctor said. "She's been asking for you. It's the only reason I'll allow it."

I nodded and we followed him down the hall. Max lay in a hospital bed, looking more bruised and cut up than I remembered seeing her last night. There was a seat next to the bed and I sat in it, still holding Ari. The doctor left us and Max opened her eyes.

"I have a couple of cracked ribs," Max muttered. "Is Ari okay?"

"I think he'll be alright."

She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, Fang."

"Why?"

"Because…I don't know."

"It's okay, Max." I took her hand. "I'm not going to let him hurt you or Ari anymore."

* * *

I brought Max back to Iggy's house. She was on pain medication and bed rest for now. Dylan wouldn't be returning until the end of the week, giving us time to figure things out. Max had already contacted Gazzy, and he directed her to a lawyer who he was good friends with. Gazzy told me when I had spoke to him shortly that he and Nudge were going to head home for moral support.

It was late, but Max's sleeping pattern was screwed up from Dylan and from the pain. She asked me to stay with her, and I sat on the opposite side of the bed, trying not to drift off to sleep. I had hooked up a TV in here and the light illuminated the room, but we weren't watching it. We had grown tired of seeing Dylan succeed and finally settled on reruns of some crime show.

And yet, conversation still remained about Dylan.

"I don't want the media to blow this out of proportion," she explained. "I don't want Ari's childhood to be a mess. I thought I could fight off Dylan, I thought he would change, but I guess I just had too much hope for him. I'm so stupid, Fang."

"You're not stupid."

She shook her head. "I should have reached out for help earlier."

"We're going to find a way to sort this out." I scooted the chair closer to the bed. "It doesn't matter anymore."

"It matters to me."

"Why?"

She shut her eyes. "I don't know. It's just, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"After you came back, I thought you were going to take off after seeing that I was with Dylan, but you didn't. I…I used to wake up every morning, worrying when I didn't see you in the kitchen, afraid that you left, that you were going to go and leave me heartbroken again, Fang." She gulped. "Especially after you moved out to help Iggy, and after Dylan kept me from seeing you, I though you would take off again, but you didn't. Why put yourself through all those things with me? Why stay here now? Why, Fang, why?"

"Max…"

"Oh, just shut up!" She suddenly snapped. "What's the point? I'm so pathetic! You know what he told me when he left me to go to Washington? He told me that he _didn't love me anymore_!"

She burst into tears, falling against me. I put my around her slowly.

"_Why don't you hate me, Fang?_"

I closed my eyes, wrapping my other arm around her. "Because I love you, Max."


	7. Chapter 7

**Love is Blind – Chapter 7**

By MyNameIsCAL

Friday had arrived too quickly. Dylan was on his flight back from Washington, leaving Max in a state of anxiety. She was out of bed now, moving about the house. We were lucky that serious wounds healed up quickly. Sometimes it was hard to curse at those scientists who genetically altered us. In a way, being the way we were had saved us.

The other night, I had over stepped the boundary of letting Max know my feelings. We didn't speak of my confession, but I knew she had been thinking about it. I kept myself reserved, hoping that if I could keep up this act that if she decided my confession wasn't something she could handle at the moment, I wouldn't be disappointed.

Nudge and Gazzy had just arrived yesterday. The lawyer had visited earlier today, and they worked out some paperwork. I noticed Max was no longer wearing her wedding ring.

But the one thing that caught me off guard was a call from Angel.

"We need to talk, Fang," she said as soon as I answered.

"Alright, so then let's talk," I replied.

Angel cleared her throat. She had grown up so much and I never gotten used to her being an adult. "Nudge told me things are getting messy between Max and Dylan, and I've heard what's going on. I'm not really allowed to get involved, but I think you need to know that I take back what I said about you coming back."

"Alright," I grumbled.

"No, I mean it. I was wrong about Dylan. You don't understand, Fang. I thought Max was so happy when she married Dylan. I thought your arrival would mess everything up, but now I see that it didn't." She sighed. "I was wrong, Fang, alright? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I don't hate you."

"I don't even know what to do now," I said. "How I'm going to even help Max."

"Fang, you were always the best at that. Just trust what you think is right."

Now she was giving me advice?

"Fang, I'm serious."

"I know."

"I have to go. You call if you need anything though. I'll be in touch."

"Angel?"

She hesitated. "Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

I hung up, taking a seat heavily on my bed. It broke my heart to see Max like this, but it was hard not to think that this was my chance to get her back.

* * *

Dylan was supposedly back in town, but we hadn't heard from him. The lawyer was over again, so I took the chance to take Ari to the park. He seemed, well, cooped up inside of Iggy's house. Nudge came along, dragging Iggy with her. They sat at the picnic tables, smiling and laughing at each other. She reached over and took his sunglasses off, telling him it wasn't even really that sunny out today, that he looked ridiculous and that he shouldn't care what other people think of him.

Ari was sitting on the swing. Now that I thought about it, with Ari's arm in a cast and all, this seemed pretty stupid. I should have brought him to a movie or something that he'd actually enjoy, but he gave me a smile when glanced at him. I rose off of the bench and went over to him.

"Can we get ice cream on the way home?" he asked me as I approached.

I took a seat on the swing next to him. "Of course."

He swung a little, back and forth, but he seemed a little scared. Eventually, he came to halt again and looked up at me. "Am I going to be living with you and Uncle Iggy now?"

"Just until your mom smoothes things out with your dad."

"I don't want to live with him. He's scary."

"Well, I'm not going to let him hurt you or your mom again." I drew a circle in the sand with my shoe.

"I wish you were my dad." He jumped off his swing. "Can we get ice cream now?"

I stood, taking his hand, and we walked towards Iggy and Nudge, glad I didn't have to respond to what he had said. Halfway towards them, Ari asked me if I could carry him, and so I picked him up, his arms coming around my neck. It wouldn't be long before he would get too big for this, and I thought about how I would actually miss it, that I had seen him grow up, and as to why this was bothering me now, I didn't know.

"YOU GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY SON!"

I spun around, still holding Ari.

Dylan.

He reeked of alcohol, ten feet away from me. I took a step back.

"You're drunk, Dylan. Go home. Don't let Ari see you like this. We can work things out. It doesn't have to be this way."

"Oh, but it does!" His words slurred, Dylan took a step towards me. "This is your fault. You shouldn't have come back!"

Ari was holding onto me now, shaking and scared.

"I never interfered with anything, Dylan. You don't understand, I want Max to be happy too."

"No, you're just a selfish little _bastard_. You just thought you could come back and sweep Max off her feet again? I think you're wrong!"

"I've been here for five years Dylan, respecting your space. If you wanted me to leave, you should have told me to my face." I took another step back.

Dylan wobbled, advancing forward once more.

"Ari, go to Uncle Iggy," I murmured.

"No." His grip tightened on the back of my shirt.

"Please, Ari."

I put him down and he let go, scrambling behind me to Iggy.

"Maybe…" Dylan pointed his finger at me. "Maybe you're right, Fang. But I've been waiting for years and years to do this to you."

Before I could even react, his wings shot out and he charged towards me, his full weight pinning me to the ground.

"FANG!" Nudge was screaming.

My hand shot up, grabbing Dylan's wrist. He was holding a knife.

"LET GO!"

He kneed me and I lost my grip, the knife plunging down into my shoulder. I bit back a cry as he grabbed _my_ wrist and yanked my arm, holding the knife with his other hand to my neck.

"I hope you burn in hell!" Dylan twisted my arm, intensifying the pain. He pulled the knife back and then stabbed me in the chest. "I hope you drown in your own blood."

The knife went back to my throat.

Suddenly, Dylan fell off of me. I don't remember what happened after that, but I remember hearing the sirens in the distance.


	8. Chapter 8

**Because I Love You – Chapter 8**

By MyNameIsCAL

The smell of the hospital was nauseating. I looked out the window. It was dark outside. My shoulder and chest ached. What happened this afternoon came flooding back. Wincing, I waited for my vision to focus. Max sat beside my bed, asleep, and yet still looking troubled. Worrying, probably about Ari.

Maybe even about me.

I closed my eyes. My arm was in a sling, probably to prevent me from moving my shoulder. I'd be out of here tomorrow maybe. Perhaps calculated recover time would be a little less than three days.

"Max…"

It only took her seconds to stir. "Fang!"

"Ari…Is he okay? The others?"

Max leaned against the bed. "They're fine, Fang."

I closed my eyes, still feeling like the affects of the anesthesia hadn't worn off yet. The nausea was fading away. I felt Max slip her fingers between mine, something simple I had longed for over many years. She squeezed my hand. "We'll get you out of here tomorrow. I talked to the doctor already."

I squeezed her hand back, too tired to respond. When I woke in the morning, Max was asleep against the bed, looking more peaceful than I had seen her during the night, hand still in mine.

* * *

The news was out. Dylan was in jail and the public was furious. The fake image he had built up for them was false. He had betrayed them.

"You stay here with Uncle Fang," Max told Ari. "I have to go to the courthouse with the lawyer."

Ari nodded. School had ended the other day from him, but summer cheer was absent from the air.

"Good luck," I told Max.

She let out a breath, nodding, and left. I was supposed to be resting, and if it weren't for my chest still hurting, and my shoulder aching every time I moved my arm, I would have been out of bed. Ari sat at the end of the bed, watching some cartoon.

"Ari, do you think you could go get me a soda?" I asked as the commercial came on.

"Of course, Uncle Fang." He hopped off the bed, running out.

"He's such a good kid." Iggy entered the room, hand sliding on the wall. I realized I hadn't talked to him lately, caught up in worrying about Max and Ari.

"I know, it's such a shame. Dylan could have been a good father too."

Iggy shook his head. "I think you're too nice to Dylan."

I shrugged. "It's out of habit I guess."

Iggy took a seat in the chair next to the bed, looking tired. He had been cooking meals every night, and since we ate everything, it was a new meal every day. I bet he was tired, but Iggy would never settle for anything less than his cooking.

"Just a warning," Iggy cleared his throat. "Gazzy's going to come up here and talk to you."

"About?"

"I dunno. I think you might find yourself agreeing though."

I frowned.

"Anyway, Ari's coming back now. I'll talk to you later."

Iggy rose and walked out slowly, patting Ari on the head as he passed. Ari handed me the soda.

"I opened it for you," he told me.

I gave him a smile. "Thanks, Kiddo."

We sat in silence, watching cartoons. It was good because it kept me from turning on the news, which I was sure the reporters were outside of the courthouse waiting, wondering what charges Dylan would be slammed with, and what way he'd find to fight Max back.

Gazzy came in some time later. He was dressed in what I guess you could call normal clothes, and I guess when you were famous, there were certain shoes you had to fill and certain styles you were expected to follow unless you created your own. Taking a seat in the chair next to the bed, he smiled at Ari.

"He's such a good kid," Gazzy commented.

I nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, I was thinking once Max gets through all this legal crap and Dylan finally gets dragged off to jail…" Gazzy always had a blunt way of saying things. "You should take Ari and Max up to California. I can get you a nice place, right next to the beach. You all need to relax and unwind and get away from all this craziness and the press."

The beach? I almost asked him why, but I remembered it was another one of Dylan's broken promised to Ari. Arizona was a landlocked state, meaning no beach with an ocean for us to swim in. Ari kept asking, but Max didn't want to go without Dylan and I always thought it would be awkward if I offered to take Ari.

"Alright then." It didn't sound like a bad idea.

He grinned. "You know, this is your chance, Fang, and you gotta prove yourself."

"This isn't about winning Max over."

"I know." Gazzy stood. "I was just sayin'."

"Of course," I grumbled, watching him leave.

* * *

"Fang!"

I sat up, swearing as I jolted my shoulder. A hand came around my wrist, pushing me back towards the bed. It took me a minute to realize it was Max standing over me.

"Sorry." She took a seat in the chair. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's ok." I rubbed my eyes. Somewhere between lunch and now I had dozed off. Gazzy or Nudge must have gotten Ari to go sleep in the room he was sharing with Max. "What's wrong?"

"It's getting late, and well, you haven't eaten dinner," Max said quietly.

"Oh?" I yawned. "That's alright…wait, how was the courthouse?"

She shrugged. "Nothing really. My lawyer wants to work out an agreement, but Dylan's being a pain in the ass about everything. I mean, he has to go to jail anyway. He freaking assaulted you in public, but you know, I don't want this to be a whole mess. I just want this to be over with and for Dylan to stay away from us."

My shoulder seemed to ache whenever she said his name.

"I mean, I could totally accuse him of assaulting me too and Ari and being violent, but there's no point when it's just going to make it a very long and painful process." Max let out a sigh.

Well, Dylan was putting up a fight, but at least he hadn't done anything else crazy. I wouldn't be as calm as Max about it, but I realized she was taking her own sanity, and Ari's future into consideration. If this thing got blown up by the media, Max would have to spend the next year dodging reporters and paparazzi. I knew that wasn't something she wanted, and would rather just settle things even if Dylan didn't exactly get the punishment he deserved.

"It'll work out eventually," I said after a moment, realizing that I was becoming lost in my own thoughts. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, actually, I am."

"C'mon, let's go eat something then. I'm sure Iggy saved food for us."

A little unsteady, I got out of bed, following Max down the stairs. It was actually only nine o'clock and Ari was watching TV with Gazzy downstairs.

"Hey, careful!" Max grabbed me by the arm as I almost slipped. "Maybe I oughta bring your food back to your room for you."

I leaned against the wall, trying to shake the feeling of disorientation. "I'm alright."

She slung my around her shoulders, and we took each step at a time, slowly. Her eyes met mine for a moment when we reached the bottom, and then I took my arm back, letting out a breath, wishing I could have held on just a little longer.


	9. Chapter 9

**Because I Love You – Chapter 9**

By MyNameIsCAL

There was a plea bargain. Which Max seemed to feel ambivalent about, but Dylan would still be spending time in jail anyway, and once Max sorted out her divorce with him, maybe things would finally settle down.

"You know he asked to have joint custody of Ari once he gets out of jail?" I told Iggy. "And he's still fighting Max for the house."

"The heartless bastard wants to leave her with nothing," Iggy snorted. "And Max knows she won't have money once she's through with Dylan. He knows it too, and he doesn't want to share a cent if he doesn't have to. Hell, none of us have money. If it weren't for Gazzy and Nudge, we'd probably be dead."

"You mean me," I frowned.

"Oh, shut up, Fang. We're all family. Even Angel wouldn't kick you to the curb."

I would have said more, but Max hurried in holding Ari.

"I have to go now. Are you sure you're alright with watching Ari?" she asked.

I took Ari from her. "Of course. Gazzy said we could go visit him on set today since they're filming locally. Nudge will be there too. Call us when you're done. We'll go out to eat, or something."

Max nodded, thanked me, and then hurried out the door.

PAGE BREAK!

Gazzy gave us a tour of the set and his trailer. Ari seemed dazzled by all of it, and I had to admit I was impressed too, but Iggy spent most of this time following us and talking to Nudge.

"Well, we're going to start filming a few scenes now, and then we'll break for lunch." Gazzy clapped his hands together. "How would you like to be in one of the shots, Ari?"

Ari's face seemed to light up.

"Nudge, how about you find him something to wear?"

Nudge pulled herself away from Iggy, taking Ari towards the costume trailer.

"What's up with you?" I asked Iggy.

"Nothing," he shrugged. "Just tired."

* * *

Max hadn't called us, so we headed home. Iggy seemed to not be in a great mood, which was rare. Ari and I filled the silence in the car as I drove. Maybe Iggy had an argument with Nudge or something, but whatever it was, I'm sure it would sort itself out eventually.

We entered the house, finding Max sitting in the kitchen, a cup of coffee in front of her. She looked tired. Ari ran up to her, jumping into her lap. She gave him a small smile.

"Why didn't you call?" I asked.

She shrugged.

"Are we still going to go out to dinner?" Iggy interjected. "Otherwise I'll cook something."

"Why don't we go out?" Max rose, gathering Ari in her arms. "Please."

I drove to the local diner Max and I had lunch at sometimes. She sat next to me, Iggy and Ari on the other side. Whatever had been bothering Iggy no longer was showing as he and Ari sat laughing.

"So what happened today?" I asked.

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. I reached for her hand, and then decided against it, glad she hadn't seen me.

"Dylan fought hard for the house, but he had all this money to offer to me and he said he'd pay child support and when Ari got to college he'd help pay for that." Max shook her head. "And then he begged me to let him see Ari once he finished his jail sentence, but I put my foot down and said no. I told him that I wanted him to stay away from Ari and me. Besides, you've got your restraining order for him too. There was a big argument between Dylan and his lawyer. But we finished today. We signed the papers."

I blinked a few times.

"I've got to go get all of my stuff and Ari's stuff out of the house tomorrow. I was hoping if you could come help me."

"Of course."

"And then everything will be over, and we'll be free."

"Then what's got you so upset still?"

She hesitated. "Dylan was genuinely upset when I told him no, but he didn't even get what he deserved. And yet it's still hard not to blame myself—Now's not the time to have this discussion, Fang."

I didn't have to respond though. Our food came out and we sat, listening to Iggy and Ari with their jokes, trying to laugh and pretend nothing was bothering us.

* * *

I sat in the kitchen with Max. Ari had gone to sleep hours ago and Iggy had retreated to his bedroom, muttering he had to call Nudge.

"Don't you ever ask yourself what would have happened if you never left, Fang?"

The question struck me hard. "All the time, Max."

She shook her head. "Dylan was made to charm me into falling for him. And he took advantage of me after you left. I was angry at you, and then I said I'd wait, but Dylan insisted on sticking around, trying to cheer me up. I guess he got what he wanted for a while."

"I'm sorry…"

"But I was stupid too. I should have known things would end up like this. Especially when he changed after you came back."

"Max—"

"I've been thinking what you told me that night you brought me back here from the hospital." Her eyes met mine. "And I realized that this is all partly my fault because I refused to accept that I still loved you, Fang. But I couldn't just leave Dylan, even though he hadn't made the effort to even be part of Ari's life. I look back now at all of that and I realize that you've been a better father to Ari than Dylan will ever be. I shouldn't have let it get this bad."

"You didn't know what to think," I told her. "There's no point in coming down so hard on yourself now. It's over. Isn't that all that matters? What's the point in regretting? We've done that long enough, for the past five years."

"Because…" She took my hand. "Because I've never told you I was sorry for putting you through all of this. For making you watch me try to pretend to be happy when I would have been happier with you."

"You're upset because of that? I left in the first place." I pulled her towards me and into a hug. "But it doesn't matter anymore, alright? We can start over and forget about everything else that happened."

She wrapped her arms around me, head against my chest. "I'd like that a lot."

I squeezed her closer. "Me too."

* * *

**Well, this is sort of the end of the first part of my story. I'm definitely going to continue this story though onto life with Max and Fang working their relationship out. I haven't really written a fic where they have a family oriented relationship that doesn't have too many complications. And I know Ari isn't really Fang's kid, but well, I thought it'd be nice if I actually wrote something happier than what happened in **_**Second Chances?**_** (if you're familiar with that fic of mine, you'll understand). **

**Anyway, there's definitely going to be an update in the next week or so. Stay tuned and let me know if there's anything I should incorporate into whatever's coming next in this story.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Because I Love You – Chapter 10**

By MyNameIsCAL

We drove back to what I guess we would now have to call Dylan's house. Max had the car loaded with boxes to fill with all their things. Ari seemed anxious as we pulled into the driveway.

"Your father's not here, don't worry," I told him.

He still stood in front of the door. "You go in first, Uncle Fang."

I let Max unlock the door and then I stepped in. There appeared to be nothing off when I entered the house, but as we went through the kitchen and upstairs, things lay strewn across the floor.

"Go with Ari and help him get his things into boxes," Max said. "I'll start in my bedroom."

I wanted to argue that maybe I should go with her, but she had headed off down the hall already.

Ari led me into his room. I started to put his clothes into a box as he started to put his books and toys in another. There was a picture that sat on top of his tiny dresser of Max, Dylan, and him. In fact, I remembered the picture because I had taken it.

It was last year at one of Dylan's work banquets. That picture was the only time he had spent with them. His file was faked. I remember he was in a rush to go off and talk to different people. It upset Max because she spent the most of the night sitting at the table. Dylan said not a word about her to anyone, and if she hadn't been sitting next to him, people wouldn't have realized that she was his wife.

"Am I going to be living with you, Uncle Fang?" Ari questioned.

I looked away from the picture. "Well, with Uncle Iggy, but I'm staying there too so I guess so. But only for a while. Your mom says she wants to find a new house."

"But I don't want to be away from you."

"You won't be far." I began to close the box. "Don't worry."

"Maybe you can live with us!" he exclaimed.

"That's up to your mom," I replied. "But maybe."

He started to go back to filling his box.

Max had said with the money Dylan had given her, she could get a place. Actually Max said _we_ could get a place. I told her that would be nice, but I had also told myself that I wouldn't overstep my boundaries still. There was a fine line I still had to hold even though our feelings were each other were very clear now. I wasn't sure what she had told Ari, and I didn't want to upset or confuse him.

I brought the boxes to the car once Ari finished and then headed to check on Max. She had boxes filled with clothes. Her room seemed bare, although I had never really been inside of it so maybe it was always like that.

Max sat on the floor, leaning against the bed, a book on her lap.

"It's my wedding album," she said as I sat down next to her. "I had half hoped you would come back, that maybe you had seen the news. But now that I think about that, it didn't really make sense."

"I never even knew, Max. I spent a lot of time just roaming around, ignoring people. Sometimes I would spend weeks flying from cliff to cliff around the desert." I shook my head.

She flipped through the pages, stopping at the last page. Then she slammed it shut, rising off the ground. I watched her place it on top of the dresser and then pull something out of her pocket. I could see it when I stood. It was her wedding ring.

"It's over now," she breathed out, placing it down on top of the scrapbook. There were at least a dozen frames of pictures of Dylan, Ari, and her on the dresser too. "It's over, finally."

And for the first time in a long time, _she_ pulled me into a hug.

* * *

Iggy had dinner ready by the time we unloaded all the boxes into his garage. Ari had gone and started eating already, talking to Iggy. Max and I sat, but Iggy still sat, fingers clenched around his spoon and fork.

"Iggy, what's wrong?" Max spoke first.

"Nothing." He started to try to cut his chicken with his spoon.

I opened my mouth to tell him, but Max put her hand around my wrist, shaking her head.

"I've invited everyone for dinner tomorrow," Iggy said, dropping his spoon and grabbing his knife. "I thought it would be nice now that things are starting to settle down."

"That sounds great, Ig."

He gave Max a brief smile. "I was hoping you'd take me to the grocery store tonight so I could start getting things ready."

"Of course," I said.

He only replied with a nod.

* * *

When I came back from food shopping with Iggy, I found Max sitting on the couch watching an old movie. I sat next to her and she leaned against me.

"Do you remember this movie?" she asked me.

"Vaguely." I found myself putting my arms around her.

She looked up at me. "It was one of last things we did together before you took off. We spent the whole time making out."

I didn't want to smile, but she was and I couldn't stop myself from smiling back.

"The theater was empty and well, it was a crappy movie from the beginning anyways."

Her arms were around my neck now.

I closed my eyes and leaned in.

Her fingers ran through my hair as I pushed her back against the couch. How long had I been waiting for this?

We broke apart a minute later, her hands still in my hair.

"I'm…I'm sorry," I said, unable to hold back my grin. "I…"

She laughed, flattening out my hair.

"You…" I opened and closed my mouth a few times. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for that."

"I know," she whispered.


	11. Chapter 11

**Because I Love You – Chapter 11**

By MyNameIsCAL

I sat in the kitchen cutting vegetables for Iggy while he and Nudge continued with the other cooking. Max, Angel, and Gazzy were outside, setting up a table, letting Ari run around outside.

"How long are you going to spend in China?" I heard Iggy ask Nudge.

"A month at the least," she said.

"Alright."

"Alright?" Nudge had stopped walking. "What's wrong?"

"Don't act like you don't know," Iggy growled. "Angel called me last night."

I looked up at them.

"What do you mean?" Nudge frowned.

"You think because I'm blind that I don't _see_ things, Nudge? I've got plenty of people who can see for me. She called me and told me she was _sure_ that Gazzy and you are having an affair. You didn't talk long to me last night. So I started to draw my own conclusions. And you know, it's not fair to think you can get away with things because I can't see. It's so hard for me to trust anyone, and after all we've been through, after all the trust I put in you, you just go and betray me? I know I just brush a lot of stuff off with a joke and a laugh, but I don't always feel the way I speak about things. Maybe that's a mistake on my part, but I'm tired of all of this."

Rarely had I ever heard Iggy raise his voice.

"It's not what you think it is, Ig."

"Then why don't you explain to me?" He threw the plate he had been using into the sink. "Why haven't you just said that you're _not_ sleeping with him?"

Nudge stood speechless now. Everyone was now crowded in the doorway. Gazzy behind the rest of them, looking away.

"Usually, when I ask how long you'll be away, you ask me to come with you, Nudge." He said quietly. "So if I've got this all wrong, then you need to tell me. You need to tell me that you're not sleeping with Gazzy."

His eyes, although sightless, were locked with Nudge's. She stared up at him for what seemed like too long.

"Nudge…"

She opened her mouth, but the damage was done.

He pushed the cutting board into the sink. "You can all make dinner by yourselves."

"Iggy!"

"No, don't even think you can try to fix this!" he shouted. "Just get out. All of you. GET OUT!"

He left the kitchen, slamming the door upstairs.

* * *

I sat out on the front porch with Max and Ari. Nudge had tried to go talk to him, but it only resulted in him shouting at all of us to get out again. Angel stuck around for a while, explaining to us that she had to tell Iggy what she heard. We discussed what we thought would happen, whether if maybe there was something we could do, but she told us things would work themselves out.

"Iggy loves Nudge too much to let her go," said Angel. "I just can't believe Gazzy would do something like that. That Nudge would too. I'm worried about Iggy. You know him, rarely angry about anything. He's been hiding his anger for too long and now that he has the chance to release it, I'm afraid it'll change him."

It was just last night that everything seemed so perfect, but now here we were, sitting and feeling that things were coming apart again.

Angel's phone suddenly rang. She left quickly after.

"Maybe you should try to talk to him," Max said. "I don't know if he'd listen to me."

I rose and started up the stairs. Iggy's door was shut and I stood in front of it for a minute, my fist raised to knock.

"You can come in. It's opened."

I let out a breath and turned the knob. He was sitting on the floor and I took a seat next to him.

"I'm nothing without her. How long do you think she's been playing me? Oh God, Fang. You know I wouldn't leave her. I couldn't. I love her too much, but I don't know if it's because I need her too. I wouldn't have anything if it weren't for her." He hung his head. "Look at me, Fang. I'm pathetic."

"Don't say that, Iggy. You know that's not true. I'm telling you that it's not true." I shook my head. "I wish I had answers for you, but I don't. And so I'll tell you what you always told me. You can't give up. It'll work out. You and Nudge will figure things out and it'll be okay."

"No, you don't understand. I will _never_ forgive her."

We sat in silence for a long time after that. What was I supposed to say? Of course he couldn't. Nudge had taken advantage of him. If I were him, I'd feel the same way too.

"Look, I appreciate you trying to talk to me." He was pushing back tears now. "I didn't mean to yell at y-you, Max, and Ari. I'll see y-you in the m-m-morning."

"Ig…"

"Just go, Fang. Please."

I didn't want to, but I got up and left, closing the door behind me. Through the door, I could hear him crying, but I knew that right now, maybe that's what he needed.

Max was waiting for me in the kitchen. I took a seat next to her and leaned against the table.

"He's really upset," I said.

"I hope Nudge realizes what she's done," Max replied. "And I hope that Iggy won't let it change him."


End file.
